Today we celebrate the great efforts made to the health of the environment. The theme for 2021 is Prioritizing Environmental Health for healthier communities in the global recovery.
Environmental health refers to aspects of human health contributed by social, physical, psychosocial, chemical, biological factors in the environment. The human and environmental relationship is interdependent. They both depend on each other. Just as our actions affect the environment, the health of the environment affects our health and well-being and our communities.
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As we know, the environment can affect our health and well-being. Therefore a healthy environment is essential to our existence. We need a healthy environment for energy and materials that sustain our livelihoods like:
World Health Organization (WHO) statistics show that environmental factors caused 24% of global deaths? Many aspects of the environment can affect our health. Environmental health hazards can increase the risk of diseases. These include infections, respiratory, gastrointestinal disorders, among others. Communities and families within the low-income groups are more exposed to unhealthy environments that are polluted and unsafe. At the same time, children and pregnant women are also at a higher risk.
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Where would we be without a healthy environment?
It is our responsibility to take part and invest in a perfect environment. We have failed in taking care of the environment in so many ways. However, we can restore the environment by being more intentional with how we live our lives daily. Our actions spiral to the community level, national level, then to the International level. Therefore, our efforts, either negative or positive, are critical to our environmental health. Working on our daily habits is a good place to start and improve from.
Environmental health includes our community’s well-being. The state around our homes, neighbourhoods and workplaces has an impact on our health. Here are a few ways you can contribute to a healthy environment:
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Have you heard of Healthy People 2030? It is such a great initiative to create a better and healthy living and workspace. Healthy People 2030 aims to reduce the populace’s exposure to polluted water, soil, air, and materials at homes and workspaces. Healthy People 2030 has data-driven objectives set out to improve health and well-being in the next decade.
And not to forget about policies and laws, we need to champion better policies and regulations to protect our environment in different parts of the world. Lastly, there are so many events around the globe organised to mark this day. Don’t be shy and plugin, together we can do more and faster!
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Until next time, Happy reading!
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